Standard Competitive? Metagross GX Deck

[Jonathan Jung]

As he is my favorite pokemon I would like to have a deck that uses him, and what I have here is a rough draft, I'm really open to suggestions. My main idea was slow down and annoy the opponent while trying to get set up fast as possible, then hit consistently.

(Shield energies do work as his ability does not require it to be a basic energy only)

 

[Rooie]

Shield Energies do not work with Metagross GX's ability because they're not Metal Energies when they're in the discard pile.

 

[Draskk]

Shield Energies do not work with Metagross GX's ability because they're not Metal Energies when they're in the discard pile.

Huh? That makes no sense to me. Why would they be Energies in your hand or attached to your Pokemon but not in the discard??

 

[mirdo]

It's in the wording of the card.

Meaning. It's only considered a steel energy when it's attached to a pokémon. Not when it's in the deck or in the discard pile.

same with e.g. Palkia EX and splash energy

 

[Draskk]

It's in the wording of the card.
View attachment 13342
Meaning. It's only considered a steel energy when it's attached to a pokémon. Not when it's in the deck or in the discard pile.

same with e.g. Palkia EX and splash energy

Oh, that makes sense. Thank you!

 

[Jonathan Jung]

crap, ok

-4 shield

+4 metal energy

 

[Vitiel]

Even 12 Metal might not be necessary with Geotech System, you could probably cut down to 10 to make room for more draw/search options. Perhaps also consider some Choice Bands to make closing out OHKOs a bit easier. Escape Rope would be fun with all the Float Stones you run, since that'd give you another way to reset Metagross GX's "cooldown."

 

[acerizzo13]

As he is my favorite pokemon I would like to have a deck that uses him, and what I have here is a rough draft, I'm really open to suggestions. My main idea was slow down and annoy the opponent while trying to get set up fast as possible, then hit consistently.

(Shield energies do work as his ability does not require it to be a basic energy only)

I really like this card and want this deck to work, but you need to consider a few things. You are missing a few important cards in this deck, namely Vs Seeker, Hex Maniac and Lysandre. Additionally I think you need another attacker that could benefit from energy hoarding such as Lugia EX or the new Tapu Lele GX. If you can fit it and make it work consider just a few Psychic as well because they can be used by Tapu Lele GX to heal your Metagross, they can be used by Metagross' ability.

My Suggestions:
+4 VS Seeker
+1 Hex Maniac
+1 Lysandre (Probably +2 because that is very common right now)
+1 Tapu Lele GX (Lugia EX if you can't afford it/ don't pull it)
+3 Choice Band

-2 Float Stone
-3 Metal
-1 Pokemon Ranger
-1 Enhanced Hammer
-1 Lillie
-2 Evosoda
-1 Ultra Ball (I don't like taking the 1 Ultra Ball away but it's all that could come out really, maybe -1 Field Blower instead)

There are some pretty hard calls to make but i'd say that 4 (possibly 3) Vs Seeker, 1 (possibly 2) Lysandre and 1 Hex Maniac, are absolutely mandatory in this deck. Tapu Lele is going to be a staple of most decks and since you ask in your title if it can be competitive this is how it could be.

Edit: Just saw @Vitiel's comment and she's absolutely right, you need Choice Band. Suggestions Changed Above

 

[Trev419]

I just think it's a bit too slow and clunky even with energy denial it still is too slow and with all the extra pokemon I feel you could be stranded with just a beldum or dhelmise in the active. I just don't think it's going too really be competitive but you never know.

 

[Emperor]

I would personally suggest adding a copy of Tapu Lele GX; Only add 1 to just use an a searcher which makes your turn 1 Lillie plays more consistent as now Ultra Ball now gaurantees you a supporter which gives you another way to get yourself out of dead hands and it functions as a nice attacker against things like M Mewtwo EX and Volcanion EX and even Yveltal EX which usually have at least 3 energy attached to themselves. I would also recommend skyla or even 2 copies of it in any kind of Stage 2 deck that isn't Decidueye/Vileplume as trying to keep up in the prize race needing to set up a constant stream of stage 2 pokemon with Rare Candy can be tough. The plus side being that Metagross GX having 250HP makes it very tanky so it gives you a turn in which you don't have to draw absolutely well and allows you to set up your hand for the following turn. It even searches out Float Stone which is always nice to be able to guarantee those cards on crucial turns. Tapu Lele GX & Skyla also helps makes your T2 Algorithm GX alot more consistent, best case scenario being you get a fully charged Metagross GX set up turn 2.

Honestly i think it might be worth trying out a Metagross GX with a 2-2 Zoroark (Breakthrough) splashed in just as a free retreating aid to help reset Metagross GXs' attack. This of course leaves you more vulnerable to ability lock shutting off Zoroarks ability, but now you only really need Float Stone on one target (the Zoroark) as apposed to needing to have 2 Megatross GX set up with at least 2 or 3 energy attached (and maybe a couple energy in the discard pile) both with Float Stone attached which makes Field Blower a dangerous threat against this deck. Zoroark also functions as an attacker which is a nice bonus.

-2 Dhelmise
-2 Timer Ball
-3 Enhanced Hammer
-2 Evosoda
-1 Metang
-2 Pokemon Ranger
-1 Metal Energy
-1 Float Stone

+2-2 Zoroark
+1 Tapu Lele GX
+1 Rare Candy
+1 Skyla
+1 Olympia
+4 VS Seeker
+2 Heavy Ball


Vs Seeker lets you retrieve supporters in your discard pile so you can Ultra Ball them away freely knowing you can use them later. Added an additional Rare Candy because T2 Metagross GX for Algorithm GX is pretty strong. Olympia is a resuable switching card which is searchable via Tapu Lele GX. Heavy Ball searchs for Metang and Metagross. You can stick with Timer ball if you wish to, but Ultra Ball gets everything that Heavy Ball can't.

I personally don't like Dhelmise much in this deck. as you need 2/3 on the field to 1HKO a relevant non-belted EX; so things like Mewtwo EX, Darkrai EX, Rayquaza EX That's alot of bench space just for an additional 10 damage each. Choice Band gets you bigger numbers against relelvant cards using less space. Of course being weak to Field Blower is a thing, but it's worth considering.

 

[joffreyspikes]

Hi there.

I have played against many Metagross-GX decks in recent history, and what I can tell you is that they are simply too slow without Alolan Vulpix (GRI). This has many advantages over the previous Stage 2 assembler of choice, Talonflame (STS). Firstly, you do not have to start with it, and it attacks for free.

I would suggest cutting one Metang as you are running Rare Candy anyway, one Dhelmise and one Lillie for 3 Vulpix.

Also, you definitely need Choice Band if you are running Metagross-GX. With two benched Dhelmise and a Choice Band, Giga Hammer is now hitting for 200. This is enough to OHKO an opposing Umbreon-GX, for example.

3 Pokémon Ranger is very unnecessary. I know that you are trying to counter Giga Hammer's unwelcome side effect, but if you replaced them all with 3 copies of Float Stone then you are looking at a much more consistent approach, as you can rotate between Metagross every turn.

In summary:

-3 Pokémon Ranger
-1 Metang
-1 Lillie
-1 Dhelmise
-2 Metal Energy

+3 Alolan Vulpix
+2 Choice Band
+3 Float Stone

 

[PlatinumDude]

Hi there.

I have played against many Metagross-GX decks in recent history, and what I can tell you is that they are simply too slow without Alolan Vulpix (GRI). This has many advantages over the previous Stage 2 assembler of choice, Talonflame (STS). Firstly, you do not have to start with it, and it attacks for free.

I would suggest cutting one Metang as you are running Rare Candy anyway, one Dhelmise and one Lillie for 3 Vulpix.

Also, you definitely need Choice Band if you are running Metagross-GX. With two benched Dhelmise and a Choice Band, Giga Hammer is now hitting for 200. This is enough to OHKO an opposing Umbreon-GX, for example.

3 Pokémon Ranger is very unnecessary. I know that you are trying to counter Giga Hammer's unwelcome side effect, but if you replaced them all with 3 copies of Float Stone then you are looking at a much more consistent approach, as you can rotate between Metagross every turn.

In summary:

-3 Pokémon Ranger
-1 Metang
-1 Lillie
-1 Dhelmise
-2 Metal Energy

+3 Alolan Vulpix
+2 Choice Band
+3 Float Stone

I don't think Float Stone is necessary, since you can just manually retreat the Metagross that just attacked into a new one, then Geotech System can reattach the lost energies. Having 2 in play means you're one manual energy attachment away from using 2 Giga Hammers in a row. Having 3 Metagross can have you essentially spam Giga Hammer all game without using up your manual energy attachment for the turn and gives you the freedom of giving Metagross Choice Band as the tool.